FUL.L Share News (FUL)

(Alliance News) - Restaurant operator Fulham Shore PLC on Monday said the outbreak of Covid-19 means it will now miss annual expectations.

Shares were 13% lower on Monday in London at a price of 4.80 pence each.

Prior to the outbreak, the Franco Manca pizza restaurant owner said it was on track to meet or even beat expectations for its year ending March 29. It will now "marginally undershoot" these expectations.

Most restaurants, including its other chain The Real Greek, were closed on Friday last week after instructions from the UK government. Some sites remain open, however, offering delivery as well as click-and-collect services.

"We are therefore in the unhappy position of having to reduce all of our costs to a minimum. These include, amongst others, property and staffing costs. We are likely, however, to benefit from the business rates holiday and the assistance to be provided by the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme for the employees of our closed restaurants. We have also taken the decision to halt all but our basic capital expenditure in order to better manage our cash flow," said Fulham Shore.

"We are working with our many partners, landlords, HMRC, and our staff to reduce our outgoings to the basic minimum as we note much of the UK government's business support plans will not pay out for some weeks yet. Our lenders are supportive and we have sufficient undrawn facilities available to manage the business through any anticipated period of closure."

"The situation is evolving rapidly with new guidelines being introduced by the UK government every day. There is currently little certainty around the duration of the impact on the group," the company added.

By George Collard; georgecollard@alliancenews.com

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